The Jaguars returned to Jacksonville on Tuesday, but there was some uncertainty about whether Everbank Field would be ready to host Sunday’s game against the Titans after Hurricane Irma thrashed the city.
The team announced on Tuesday afternoon that the show will go on, however. Jaguars owner Shad Khan also announced that the team will make a $1 million donation to the First Coast Relief Fund to help the recovery effort in the city.
“Jacksonville gets labeled as ‘small market,’ but it has a heart bigger than any community I’ve been associated with in my life,” Khan said. “Jacksonville will recover and come back stronger than ever, but who couldn’t use a little help from our friends? I’m hoping that our sponsors, partners and fans will think of Florida’s First Coast Relief Fund this week and give what they can. Then, we gather Sunday at EverBank Field to show the world we’re back in a big way, as a team and as a community. This is Jax As One.”
The team will donate 5,000 tickets to the game and will distribute a portion of them to first responders like Jacksonville Fire & Rescue and the Jacksonville Sherriff’s Office as well as other volunteer organizations that provided assistance in recent days. Other tickets will be given to Jacksonville residents impacted by the storm and the team’s website has more information about how they will be distributed.